Freedom of Belief
by Lushcoltrane
Summary: Exploring questions of life and death through an old science fiction television series.


Disclaimer: _Victorious_ and its characters are the property of Schneider's Bakery and Nickelodeon. _The Galaxy Being_ episode by Leslie Stevens and _The Outer Limits_ series are the property of Daystar Productions, Villa DiStefano and United Artists Television. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no money exchanged hands. No copyright infringement is intended. The original characters, situations, and story are the property of the author. No profit is intended or wanted for this story.

* * *

Note: This is not an attack on established religions nor am I against a person's own beliefs. It's more of an attempt to explore an alternative to organized religions - which I no longer follow (I was raised Roman Catholic, for what it's worth). I won't be surprised if I get slammed or 'yelled' at for this but that's the beauty of freedom itself.

* * *

"Wow, that's trippy," Andre said as he and Beck joined the rest of the group at their table for lunch.

"I know, right?"

"What's trippy?" Tori asked.

"My brother's trippy. The doctors think that's part of his problem," Cat chimed in.

Ignoring her, Andre turned to his friend and said, "In history, Mr. Sykes was talking about how much organized religion meant to people."

"Even to the point of going to war," Beck chimed in. "How even similar Christian religions fight over minor differences in their specific belief systems. I was doubting this whole thing until he pointed out Northern Ireland's fighting between the Protestants and the minority Catholics.

"Then he was saying how all religions are really creations of man, not God."

"What about God speaking to the prophets?" Cat asked, a strangely wise question for the usually ditzy girl.

"He couldn't speak to the Old Testament prophets but he did point to some of the more recent suicide cults who had leaders who claim God spoke directly to them. Even Osama Bin Laden claimed that God was the reason Al Qaida was attacking us."

"Man uses God to justify his actions – everything from the Crusades to the Salem Witch Trials to Al Qaida," Jade cut in. "God as an old man on a throne in the clouds, Satan in the eternal flames of Hell and the afterlife are just what some ancient people dreamed up to keep others in line. A basic form of control. And priests and ministers continue to foster the myth by telling us. Constantly. The only thing they got right is that God is every thing."

Tori looked puzzled, "Yeah, that's what Father Cortez told us in church." In her mind, she added, _When I still attended…_

"Not like that, Vega. God is every thing. Every single thing. Not some guy in a white beard sitting on a throne in the sky. God is the totality of every single thing in the entire universe and beyond. You, this cup of soda, that burrito, the bird, the freaking Hollywood sign, the pavement, the dirt under those bushes, the cars, the pollution, the stars… Every freaking thing in existence. From the entire universe, and beyond, own to the subatomic.

"Even that old Greek, Pythagoras, realized it when he said, 'Astonishing! Everything is intelligent!'"

"Huh?" Tori's puzzled look was copied by the others around the table, with the sole exception of Robbie.

Robbie spoke up, "Yeah, I get it. Like that old _Outer Limits_ episode, _The Galaxy Being_. Which is on tonight on KCAL."

"Watch it," Jade said as she nodded to what the nerd had said. When the rest started to object: "The Bears are playing the Raiders.", " _The Voice_ is on.", "I was gonna watch _Celebrities Under Water_.", "Rex told me he'd give me a pedi.", " _My Little Pony the Next_ _Generation_ starts tonight.", Jade yelled "WATCH IT!"

Quickly, they all agreed.

* * *

Turning on the large flat screen, Tori found the right channel and clicked to it just as the show was beginning. Starting with a glowing white dot in the middle of the screen, image followed image as the dispassionate voice intoned:

 _There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. If we wish to make it louder, we will bring up the volume. If we wish to make it softer, we will tune it to a whisper. We will control the horizontal. We will control the vertical. We can roll the image, make it flutter. We can change the focus to a soft blur or sharpen it to crystal clarity. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. We repeat: there is nothing wrong with your television set. You are about to participate in a great adventure. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to – The Outer Limits._

The introduction, with the old visuals, was slightly creepy and still effective. The story itself told of a radio engineer who succeeded in contacting an alien. The alien was a bright, glowing figure with no mouth, nose or ears but communicated in a hollow electronic voice. It lived in the Great Spiral Galaxy of Andromeda.

The episode was decent but so far, Tori found nothing to relate to the discussion earlier in the day or Jade's declaration to watch the show.

 _Why does Jade like this? There's no gore or even any of the 'clean' killing used on old TV_. The alien effects and the electronic voice were well-done considering what she expected for something made thirty years before she was born.

Still, despite her doubts, Tori was intrigued by the tale and watched the old show as the story unfolded. During a commercial break, her phone signaled an incoming text. Picking it up, she saw a text from Jade:

 **It's coming up, Vega.**

She tossed the phone to the side, rolling her eyes and muttering, "I hope this is worth it. I'm missing the wet reunion of David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar…"

The show resumed as the Cliff Robertson character, Alan Maxwell, learned to communicate with the weird, glowing alien from Andromeda. Her phone beeped again but no text - just an exclamation point. Then…

 _Alan Maxwell: Do you have life?_

 _Andromedan: Not the same. You are carbon cycle, we are nitrogen cycle._

 _Alan Maxwell: Where you are…do you have death?_

 _Andromedan: Repeat._

 _Alan Maxwell: We have end of being. We stop moving, stop breathing. No thoughts, nothing. We call it death._

 _Andromedan: Death is property of carbon cycle in three dimensions. No death in our dimension. Electromagnetic waves go on to infinity._

 _Alan Maxwell: Do my brainwaves go on?_

 _Andromedan: Yes._

Some incidental dialogue about war ensued but Tori was caught up in the discussion on death. Quickly, the discussion on the show turned back to mortality and beyond.

 _Alan Maxwell: What about God? Do you have a god?_

 _Andromedan: Explain._

 _Alan Maxwell: An all-powerful being. A force underlying everything._

 _Andromedan: Electromagnetic forces underlying all._

 _Alan Maxwell: No, I mean an intelligent force. God._

 _Andromedan: Electromagnetic force intelligent. Matter, space, time - all the same._

 _Alan Maxwell: All the same…_

 _Andromedan: Different name. Infinity. Infinity is God. God infinity. All the same._

 _Alan Maxwell: All the same…_

The interspecies discussion continued but Tori was caught by the thoughts already expressed. She had been raised Roman Catholic but had drifted away from organized religion over the past couple of years. She still felt there was an overall power but she wasn't sure what she really believed in. This was an eye-opener.

The episode ended with the alien accidentally being brought to Earth and the subsequent confrontation with the local populace. The end was thought-provoking and not at all what she expected. By the time the episode closed, Tori had re-evaluated her opinion of the show. This was not the standard old-time sci-fi drek she had imagined.

A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door. Still lost in thought, Tori just called out, "It's open!"

"Jeez Vega, you still don't lock your door? What if I was a serial killer?"

In an off-handed way, Tori replied, "You're not?"

The odd inflection in Tori's voice surprised Jade. "Vega, what's going on? You're acting weirder than usual."

"Jade, it all makes sense now. I felt different when I stopped practicing being a Catholic. I realized I felt like the alien in the show but I had no idea how to explain it."

Jade just nodded and Tori went on, "See, Dad pulled an old desktop out of his closet and powered it up. He was hoping there were some files he wanted that he could still access. I told him it was hopeless since the system was in the closet for years and years.

"It powered up and he logged in. Most of the files were still intact and he got what he needed. When that happened, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I didn't know when or why but I suddenly realized that our brains are the most advanced computers ever and that our mental processes wouldn't just go away when we die."

"Very good, Vega. Did you know the average body loses twenty-one grams of weight when that person dies? Theologians say that's our soul. But, if you remember from that yawn-a-thon psychics class, energy has mass and weight. So, our brain waves, our souls…"

"Go on to infinity," Tori said with a touch of awe.

Jade nodded, a pleased look on her face. With a similar trace of awe.

"Wow…"

* * *

Post-note: I remember being blown away the first time I saw this episode when TNT used to show reruns of the classic series. The dialogue with the Andromedan resonated with me on a deeper level than simply the idea the SF was the only genre that would allow such a conversation on TV in those pre-Norman Lear days.

And, for those who noted the longer length of the Control Voice intro, it was shortened for the rest of the two seasons the show ran. That initial intro and the dialogue was taken verbatim from the show and was written by the late Leslie Stevens.


End file.
